The Plaintiff never made a valid offer, a commitment with definite and certain terms that was communicated to the offeree, to the Defendant.

1. The Defendant never communicated his acceptance of the offer and its terms to the offeror.
2. There was no consideration, or "bargained-for exchange". Although one party was to give something up, the other party already had a duty to perform his side of the contract.
3. There was not any valid substitute stipulated for consideration of this offer.
4. There is no valid contract here. Although there was an offer, there is no agreement between the two parties on consideration for the offer.

View the case study "Verbal Agreement: Recording Studio Blues" in You Be the Judge. In this matter the court has ruled that there was not a contract due to the lack of the meeting of the minds. Specifically, the defendant had not agreed to the payment terms. What if the plaintiff had followed his customary business practice and retained the master tapes until payment had been made? Would this have altered the court's decision? What steps should the plaintiff have taken when the contract was initiated to ensure the contract was effective?